Two Malaysian tourists who reported missing at the Cunca Wulang waterfalls in the Mibeliling district of Flores, Indonesia were found drowned by local search and rescue personnel. The body of their Indonesian guide was also found.
The two victims, 23-year old Mohamad Azfar Tahir from Kuala Lumpur and Mohammad Ezzaq Azumi from Kelantan, also 23, were reported missing after they visited the waterfalls with two other friends, Mohamad Qayyum Pirdous of Perak, and Mohamad Imran Helmy of KL, guided by Wenseslaus Handro Akung, 39, a resident of Flores, on Saturday.
According to Astro Awani, Mohamad Qayyum said he declined to jump into the river they were visiting after seeing Mohamad Azfar, Mohammad Ezzaq, and Wenseslaus disappear into the water after they had dived in.
Mohamad Azfar was said to have jumped into the water first, but did not resurface. This prompted Wenseslaus to dive in to look for him.
After Wenseslaus in turn seemed to struggle in the water, Mohammad Ezzaq jumped in as well to help the guide.
All three disappeared, prompting Mohammad Qayyum to contact Indonesian police.
Search and rescue operations began at 3pm on Saturday, but had to be halted at 5pm due to fading daylight. The search resumed at 6am yesterday morning.
Mohamad Azfar’s body was found at 11am, while Mohammad Ezzaq’s remains were discovered at 1pm. Wenseslaus’s body was found at around 3pm.
The Malaysian Foreign Ministry said in a statement yesterday that it would assist in repatriating the bodies of both Malaysian tourists as soon as possible.
“The Foreign Ministry and the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta would like to extend our condolences to the families of the victims in this tragedy,” Wisma Putra said.
